In the textile industry strands of textile material, such as slivers, are transported from and to processing machines, such as spinning frames, in containers, such as sliver cans. After filling or emptying, each container must be replaced by a fresh container--an empty or full one, depending on the circumstances. Containers of this type have been transported in the past by such means as slideways, roller conveyors, and suspended conveyors or conveyor belts.
A container changing and transporting device for spinning machines, wherein the transport paths consist of conveyor belts, is described in German Published, Examined Patent Application DE-AS 12 65 014. A corresponding device, wherein roller conveyors are used is disclosed in German Published, Non-Examined Patent Application DE-OS 38 09 287. In accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,979 it is also possible to transport the containers with conveyor chains on slideways between guide rails.
In all of the above-mentioned transport devices, rotating components or at least those which are moved continuously in one direction are used, which are quickly dirtied by the heavy flow of fibers and lint customary in textile plants in such a way that extensive cleaning becomes necessary. Cleaning of parts traveling in one direction is particularly difficult because of the fibers and lint wrapping themselves around the parts.
One disadvantage of these existing conveying devices, namely their considerable structural height, was overcome by a device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,631. In this device, a straight push rod, movable in its longitudinal direction, is provided, which has a pusher which is immovably attached to it and extends in a plane oriented radially to the long axis of the rod. However, this push rod is only suited for transporting containers along straight courses.
A container transport system with slideways for containers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,018. The slideways have a support plate with a slit located approximately in the center, through which a transport hook normally extends upward. During movement the transport hook engages a lower edge of a spinning container and thereby moves the container. Each transport hook is fastened on a chain which is continuously moved forward in the transport direction, and because of this movement the chain is exposed to soiling to a large degree.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,782 describes a container transport device having push rods which can be lowered below a transport plane and carry hooks fastened immovably thereon. The rods are mounted so that they can be rotated, longitudinally and also lifted and lowered. This device presents considerable disadvantage in that the transporting device is moved in only one direction and that thick fiber wrappings stick to the parts when used in textile operations. A further disadvantage of the last mentioned device consists in that a separate drive is needed for each individual straight transport path in order to allow the device to make turns.